The nationwide airwaves are being vacated by TV broadcasters that are converting to digital signals. Carriers don’t expect a wireless network of this size to be up for auction again for decades. The federal government expects to raise about $10bn in the sale.
About one-third of the spectrum will be open-access airwaves for use by any mobile phone and any mobile application. Search giant Google unsuccessfully tried to persuade the FCC to set rules so that the licensee of the open-access spectrum had to make wholesale services available to other rival providers. Google also asked that rival broadband providers be able to interconnect to the licensee’s wireless network.
Google had previously pledged to bid at least $4.6bn if the FCC agreed to meet all of its so-called wholesale open-access provisions. The FCC did not, and Google has not yet announced whether or not it intends to bid in the forthcoming spectrum.
The FCC on Friday asked for public comment on its proposed procedures the auction, which includes anonymous bidding, reserve prices for certain blocks of spectrums, and allowing some package bidding. The public has until the end of the month to comment, and the agency will issue its final responses by September 7, said the FCC.
AT&T and Verizon Wireless are also expected to be bidders.
